Guwahati,  With the improvement in the Covid situation in Assam, the state government on Wednesday relaxed the restrictions that were enforced in the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic.

The Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) has reduced the duration of the night curfew and allowed certain group of students to attend physical classes from September 6.

Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said the ASDMA in consultation with the health and education departments allowed the functioning at all work places -- government and private offices, as per the usual working hours, but not beyond 8 p.m.

The night curfew instead of 8 p.m. would be now enforced from 9 p.m. in the night till 5 a.m. in the morning across the state from Wednesday, the minister told the media.

According to the fresh orders of the ASDMA, final year or final semester students of post-graduate, graduate, higher secondary, nursing and other technical courses would be allowed to attend physical classes from September 6, provided they have to receive at least one dose of Covid vaccine.

Mahanta said that before the start of physical classes, a 3-day vaccination drive for students, faculty and staff would be undertaken across the state.

He said that all business and commercial establishments, hotels, restaurants, resorts, sales counters, showrooms, cold storages and warehouses, groceries and other shops, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and fodder stores would be allowed to open up to 8 p.m. across the state.

However, cinema halls and theatres shall continue to remain closed. Pillion riding shall be allowed for mask-wearing persons who have taken at least one dose of vaccine. Inter and intra-district public transport with 100 per cent seating capacity is allowed for people having at least a single dose of vaccine but there will be no standing passenger.

According to the new directives, a gathering of maximum of 50 people in open or closed spaces would be allowed for persons who have received at least one dose of the vaccine -- with prior information to the local police. Gathering in religious places is allowed with a restricted number of people.

The Covid-19 caseload in Assam stood at 5,89,999 on Wednesday night with the recovery rate of 97.89 per cent and positivity rate of 0.72 per cent.